Sure, Louis Farrakhan talks about UFOs. And, yes, some people think he had a hand in the death of Malcolm X. And maybe a case can be made that he isn't the most tolerant of men. Be that as it may, he was a suburb calypso singer.posted by Astro Zombie (22 comments total)

Did you just find this out or something?posted by 2sheets at 4:12 PM on September 7, 2006

He was, I guess, literally "rocking the suburbs" with his "suburb" singing.posted by davejay at 4:17 PM on September 7, 2006

OK, OK, a pretty insignificant FPP on an important subject. (For example, even though white people have been offically allowed to join for twenty years or so, an important part of their doctrine is that the white race was created by a mad scientist many many years ago...I'm starting to think that Scientology and NOI have some things in common....).

But I hope this post will inspire you to research the NOI, a hugely significant movement in history, and still strong. Spend a buck buying their newspaper from one of their bow-tied hucksters and you will learn a lot.

Black self-suffiency, of course, going back to, especially W.E.B. Dubois is much of the core of their doctrine, although their history and some of their beliefs are prettty out there.posted by kozad at 4:44 PM on September 7, 2006

Spend a buck buying their newspaper from one of their bow-tied hucksters and you will learn a lot

even though im a born again Christian, i gotta give it up to the Minister, he can rock the pulpit pretty well. public speaking isnt something to sneeze at and most people hold it as more frightening than death itself.

*totally ignoring his music*posted by tsarfan at 7:11 PM on September 7, 2006

AZ, you've transcended death and the speed of light - we forgive the occasional repeated spelling error.posted by mwhybark at 7:34 PM on September 7, 2006

Reverend Farrakhan:

Don't quit your day job. Even though I hate all that your day job stands for, you're better at that than you are at calypso, that's for damn sure.

He's far better known (and more respected) for his violin. He was classically trained and is quite talented.

I once ran into him here in Chicago when he was purchasing a new amplifier for an electric violin. He'd come all the way up to the North side to try amplifiers at the Guitar Center. He wasn't unwelcome, of course, but I couldn't help but think that it'd have been more convenient to pick up an amp somewhere nearer to his Mosque or his home in Hyde Park (which, incidentally, is gorgeous).

His well dressed bodyguards were in tow - all of them very polite and friendly.posted by aladfar at 10:32 PM on September 7, 2006

Those crazy anti-Semites and their musical stylings!posted by haqspan at 4:00 AM on September 8, 2006

Y'know, Astro, your misspelling was maybe not that far off the mark. A look at the track listings on those LPs show the Charmer covering the tiredest, most-often-heard calypso numbers of all time: Hold 'im Joe, Back To Back Belly To Belly, Brown Skin Gal... In other words, the calypso tunes that just about every good old born-in-the Yew Ess Ay suburbanite of the era would've actually known. Farrakhan: Suburb Calypso King!posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:50 AM on September 8, 2006

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